When I worked full-time in an office, I regularly noticed how insanely stressed some people seemed to be. I recall walking past a coworker and offering an insincere salutation: “How you doing?”
“Surviving . . .” was the response, accompanied by a headshake and a world-weary sigh.
While I can’t know what troubles and challenges this individual was facing in his life outside of the office, that response seemed out of place, exaggerated.
Our society, within our pocket of time, is pretty much a Garden of Eden. The world is experiencing an epoch that’s unprecedented in its hospitality. Twenty thousand years ago, the earth was covered by an ice sheet miles thick, yet here we are, in a temperate climate. And in other parts of today’s world, people are being shelled by artillery, attacked by militants, and even starved.
That coworker was doing better than 99.9% of all the people who have ever lived. When asked how I’m doing, one of my canned responses is, “Hot water came out of the tap, and nobody’s chasing me with a machete. Pretty damn well, and thanks for asking.” So yeah, things are—for the most part—good here in North America.
That’s not to say it’s all rainbows and unicorns. Far from it. Income inequality is rising, tent cities are flourishing, and, just as the last WWII veterans are dying, fascism is on the rise. Which brings us to the topic of the day. Doug Schneider related in his May editorial that SoundStage! will cease using the US dollar as its sole currency for component pricing, the change point being the addition of, where available, the Canadian dollar (CAD), the British pound (GBP), and the euro (EUR). The impetus for this departure from how we’ve handled pricing since SoundStage! was formed is the (sometimes daily) fallout from the unilateral tariffs implemented by US President Trump.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’re likely aware that North America is no longer a stable geopolitical unit. Trump has implemented tariffs on goods from almost every nation on earth, including America’s formerly staunch ally and neighbor, Canada. Canadians fought through two world wars with the US and provided support and troops in Afghanistan. We’ve been allies for well over a century—but no longer. As if the tariffs were not enough of a slap in the face, Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada. He has floated economic warfare as the first phase of this plan, but recently has mused that military force might also be on the table.
I live very close to the border between Canada and the US. I’m now thinking about what I would do, how I would keep my family safe, if we were invaded.
You’re probably thinking that I’m being alarmist. But fascism requires expansion and an “enemy” to distract the populace from what they have given up to support a regime that’s not working in their best interests. Is this 1939, and are we up here in Canada like Poland? Jesus god, I hope not. But the fact that it’s even a consideration is extremely disconcerting.
Just this past February, Doug Schneider and I attended the Florida International Audio Expo. Trump had already expressed his desire to make Canada “the 51st state,” but the rhetoric hadn’t yet ramped up very high. Still, I was apprehensive about the changed tenor of our two countries’ relationship. It was a great event regardless, and we produced some excellent coverage. But in the back of my mind was the thought that, though these people weren’t yet enemies, they were certainly no longer friends. Now, the threat posed by Trump to our sovereignty has galvanized and united us Canadians, and we’ve reclaimed our flag.
We Canadians aren’t the only ones who are looking askance at what’s happening in the US, reacting with horror to wanton tariffs that will cause huge job losses and a recession at best. As a result, Canadian-made products on every shelf in my local supermarket have been clearly labeled as such, and I’ve noticed a trend where US-made products are turned upside-down to help save other shoppers some time. We are reconsidering where we will purchase everything, including weapons. Other countries are taking note as well. The rest of the world is gradually backing away from the US, gently, slowly, to attract as little attention as possible.
And now I pivot back to audio.
US audio companies are going to get clobbered by retaliatory tariffs, and they’re no longer going to be as desirable for consumers, due to the additional costs and by association with their country’s authoritarian government. The world outside of the US has a ton of choices, from Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, and China.
Audio companies in the US will also have to pay tariffs on parts imported from elsewhere. Resistors, capacitors, drivers, transformers, chassis components—anything that, up to now, has been cheaper to import, or is not available locally, will cost more, and that will have to be factored into the final retail price. And then, when finished products get shipped to other countries, there will likely be retaliatory tariffs charged at the ports of entry.
In yesterday’s world, an audiophile choosing between, say, a Wilson Audio speaker, which is built in the US, or an Estelon speaker, which is built in Estonia, might have based the choice on such conventional properties as sound, appearance, and dealer proximity. But soon, the price of the Wilson Audio speaker will likely increase—possibly substantially—for a US buyer due to those parts tariffs. And due to the import tariffs on the finished product, the Estelon will also cost more than it used to. The US customer loses, no matter what the choice.
A different decision awaits customers in other countries. The Estelon will remain at its pre-Trumpian price. But the Wilson Audio speaker will cost more. How much more depends on the reaction to the sometimes-daily fluctuations in the tariffs imposed by the US. Obviously, this means the Estelon will be the more attractive purchase.
What may be of more importance is how much of the toxicity of the Trump regime will rub off on US brands. As I said earlier, here in Canada, we are actively avoiding US products where possible, and this tendency is becoming a worldwide trend. The US is obviously the largest consumer market in the world, but losing business from the rest of the world market is going to sting like a sumbitch.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this change in dynamics affects audio shows. The thought of having to swap over to a burner phone, and potentially being interrogated at the border regarding my opinion of the US president (as recently happened to an acquaintance of mine) is deeply unsettling. I just can’t see myself returning to the US anytime soon. I doubt I’m alone in this.
As I finish this article, I’m about to travel to Munich, Germany, for High End 2025 (I’ll be back by the time you read this), and will be attending Audio Video Show 2025 in Warsaw, Poland, this fall. I’m also planning two factory tours this summer in Europe. I will be very interested to see how many US brands exhibit at these two shows.
. . . Jason Thorpe
jasont@soundstagenetwork.com
